Judge Rules Lawyers Won't Be Paid Unless They Prove Their
Work Benefits Public

Should lawyers make millions by suing a manufacturer to fix a problem
the manufacturer has already fixed, fixed for free, and fixed although none
of the customers noticed the problem? That was the question in a California
courtroom this month when Santa Clara Superior Court Judge Socrates Manoukian
ruled that attorneys suing Intel must prove that the public has benefitted
from a class action lawsuit before the lawyers can receive $1.5 million.

The lawyers had filed the suit against the Intel Corporation on behalf
of every person who has purchased an Intel Pentium computer chip. They did
so after reading of Intel's announcement that it had incorrectly reported
benchmark speed tests for two microprocessors, and that it had corrected
the problem. The lawyers negotiated a $1.5 million fee for themselves and,
for the plaintiffs, $50 rebates for those who purchase an Intel OverDrive
Processor. These processors are expected to cost between $299-$345 before
rebate.

Berkeley attorney Lawrence W. Schonbrun, who objected to these high legal
fees on behalf of one class member, noted: "It's the ultimate abusive
class action settlement: Little, if any, harm to consumers; no economic
damages to class members; no illegal conduct by defendants; and no meaningful
recovery for anyone except the lawyers."

Child's Illness Demonstrates Need for Product Liability Reform

Virginia Democratic Representative Jim Moran has a very personal reason
to support product liability reform: his six-year-old daughter, Dorothy.
Writing in the Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill (September 17), Moran reported
that when Dorothy was three she was given only a 50-50 chance of surviving
brain cancer. One of the factors in her recovery, he says, is a medical
device that may soon be pulled off the market because of, he says, "the
looming danger of financial ruin posed by potential product liability lawsuits."
Moran adds: "Opponents of product liability reform, especially tort
lawyers, often speak of their concern for the victims of defective products.
But unless we act soon to reform our laws affecting the liability of biomaterials
producers, we could have more than 7.5 million more victims -- those individuals
who depend on medical devices made with biomaterials."

"Loser Pays" Serves Justice, Cases Show

Writing in the Baltimore Business Journal (December 6), Baltimore trial
lawyer James E. Carbine calls upon private businesses to start putting "loser
pays" provisions in their private contracts. Carbine says this provision,
which many legal reform experts are urging Congress to enact, would help
businesses when "the amount in contention is too much to ignore, yet
too little to justify the expense of taking the case to trial."

Carbine cited two cases in which "loser pays" would have served
justice: A four-year-old company just about to become profitable was sued
for $75,000 by its landlord in a bogus suit. The landlord offered to settle
for $35,000; the company's lawyers estimated that defending the lawsuit
would cost $50,000. A mid-sized firm is stiffed for $60,000 by a customer.
The company sues, wins, collects $60,000 from the customer and is billed
$70,000 in legal fees.

Tort D'Jour: Ludicrous Lawsuits

Common sense has prevailed in a few recent ludicrous lawsuits:

A California judge dismissed a suit against Disneyland by a former Mouseketeer
who was robbed in the Disney parking lot. The plaintiff complained that
her grandchildren were traumatized when, after the robbery, Disney security
guards took the family inside the Disney facility and the children saw
the Disney characters take off their costumes, thus learning that Disney
characters aren't real.

A Washington, D.C. judge dismissed a lawsuit against National Public
Radio by a convicted cop killer and death row inmate when NPR decided to
stop airing his radio commentaries. The convicted killer says his first
amendment rights have been violated by NPR's refusal to give him air time
upon demand. *

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